Government braces for legal challenges to Boracay closure

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is ready to face possible legal complaints from business establishments in Boracay following the government’s decision to close the island resort for about six months.

Environment Undersecretary Jonas Leones said they are preparing for the possible filing of temporary restraining orders (TROs) by commercial establishments as the government shuts down Boracay on April 26.

“We are expecting it, especially those affected hotels, and it is within their right to file reprieve from courts. If they will file, we will face them,” Leones said in a briefing yesterday.

“But we also emphasize that what we are doing will not only benefit the island but the whole country as well. This will also be for them,” he added.

So far, no establishment has filed any complaint against the DENR.

“We are ready to face them because we have to implement the law. Nobody should be above the law,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said.

DENR named some establishments that have committed severe violations – including Crown Regency, West Cove Hotel and D’Mall – with issues ranging from over-expansion to building on tributaries that flow on wetlands.

Cimatu added he is not in favor of the planned construction of a 23-hectare casino in Boracay, saying “there are other places” where it can be built.

A provisional license was granted by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to Macau-based Galaxy Entertainment and their Filipino partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp.

“My personal position is no to that. There are a lot of places, why Boracay? We haven’t received any application for permits on that casino. We can accept or deny that based on scientific basis,” Cimatu said.

The DENR is expecting rehabilitation efforts to take more than six months but maintained that the relaunching of Boracay can happen sooner.

“We will still be continuing our rehab efforts since not everything will be finished in six months, like laying of pipes and sewer lines, but at least we are optimistic these efforts will address some of the problems,” Leones said.

Boracay is faced with issues of lack of drainage systems and sewer lines, encroachment and garbage problems.

The island is generating 90 to 115 metric tons of garbage per day when its capacity is only at 30 to 50 MT.

President Duterte this week approved the recommendation of three government agencies for a six-month closure of Boracay effective April 26 to make way for its rehabilitation.

The proposal came from the DENR, Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Tourism.

Performance target

Lawmakers said the government should attach a “performance target” to the six-month closure of Boracay and immediately implement measures to cushion the economic impact of the shutdown of the world-famous tourist destination.

Sen. Ralph Recto said the results of the forced shutdown should be measurable.

“What are the countable outputs after six months? How many kilometers of sewer lines were installed? How much is the improvement of the test results of its waters? How many illegal structures along the shoreline were dismantled?” Recto remarked.

“Such a master plan is needed so that at the end of six months, we will have a before and after comparison table,” he said.

Recto warned of “a disaster if half of Boracay’s six-month forced vacation will be spent on the government’s favorite pastime: planning and visioning.”

Sen. Nancy Binay, chair of the Senate committee on tourism, said she found the rehabilitation plan of the DOT and the DENR to be lacking in details.

Binay said it appeared that what has been missed out is the plan for the 35,000 jobs that will be disrupted.

“I was expecting a more detailed plan for the majority of the workers – especially from the tourism sectors – who will be displaced,” she said.

Sen. Loren Legarda, chair of the committee on finance, said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) should reach out to the workers who will be affected by the closure. 

She said the DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced (TUPAD) Workers Program has a budget of P2.3 billion for 2018 that could be used for the Boracay workers.

She said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) could also provide livelihood through its cash-for-work program, especially if the President declares a state of calamity in Boracay.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian proposed the displaced workers be tapped for the government’s rehabilitation work.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said the DOT should aggressively market and promote alternative destinations with the temporary closure of Boracay.

Evardone said travel agencies and other tour operators should offer other tourist destinations to clients who are cancelling their bookings in Boracay.

“This will help cushion the impact of the island’s closure on our tourism revenues and job displacements,” he added.

He pointed out that once displaced Boracay workers see the influx of tourists in other tourist spots, they might look for jobs in these areas.

Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu also said the government should promote other tourist destinations and build more infrastructure in these tourist spots to make them more attractive.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said the closure of Boracay might bode well for the promotion of the country’s tourist destinations.

“I think this is also a blessing in disguise for people to be aware of our other destinations,” Teo said.

She said the DOT has always been firm in promoting the country’s other destinations.

Teo said the DOT is not expecting a significant decline in the number of domestic tourists this year from the Boracay closure, as they project locals to choose other destinations.

Adjustments

Airlines have started adjusting their flight schedules to the island and Kalibo, Aklan’s capital, while travel agencies are cancelling bookings for Boracay from May to October.

Jose Clemente III, president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, has said as many as 700,000 bookings from May to October would be cancelled. 

He said for May alone, there were about 170,000 bookings.

In terms of losses in tourism revenues, Clemente estimated at least P30 billion, or 50 percent of the projected P62 billion in tourist receipts for this year.

He noted that Boracay earned P56 billion in 2017.

An additional P6 billion was expected to be realized this year with the launching of more chartered flights from China, he said.

Clemente stressed the remaining three weeks is not enough for Boracay stakeholders to prepare for the closure of the island on April 26.

“Closing it in three weeks’ time is not really viable for us,” Clemente said.

He added stakeholders were asking for at least a six-month lead time before closure so they can prepare accordingly.

“They held on to the date of closure for so long. We were never really able to adjust as much as we could,” Clemente said.

He said the six-month closure would be unfair to compliant Boracay establishments.

“That’s unfair because there is also a good Boracay. There were establishments that were complying from the very beginning. They are good citizens, good taxpayers, they complied with all the rules,” Clemente said.

During the six-month closure, the government would rehabilitate the drainage and sewage systems of Boracay island and demolish establishments built on no-build areas. 

It is also threatening to sue local and national officials who had tolerated such infractions.

DENR’s Leones said several officers of the department assigned in the Boracay area will be made liable for making possible issuance of permits even to the erring companies situated in the island.

“It shows that there has been a problem in the issuance of permits. We are conducting our own probe into this. Those found responsible will be filed appropriate administrative and criminal charges. Our legal division is the one looking into this matter,” Leones said.

He added they will carefully study those involved since the DENR is in charge in issuing environmental compliance certificate (ECC), permit to operate and discharge permit.

“We will check what particular office issued the permits — if it is from the local, regional or even the national level,” Leones said.

Though no DENR official has been suspended yet, Leones said they are now carefully checking their records.

Cimatu said there would be major changes on the basis for granting of permits to establishments interested in operating in Boracay.

He said the carrying capacity of the island would now be given much weight before an ECC can be issued to a company.

In particular, it will be the DENR’s Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau that will determine the island’s carrying capacity.

Cimatu likewise said there would be a retraining of stakeholders on solid waste management in the island. These will include environment officials, local officials, business groups and establishment owners.

“Violation of environmental laws has caused this mess in the island – that is why I was also made to head the Task Force on Boracay,” he added.  – Rhodina Villanueva, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Catherine Talavera, Sheila Crisostomo

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